A recent report found that 82% of US adults attended with a doctor or other health care professional in the past year. If you’re a healthcare professional, protecting patient data should be a priority.
But what steps can you take to improve your healthcare cybersecurity practices? The online world moves quickly, and a data breach could have severe consequences for your patients.
While it’s important to keep your finger on the pulse when it comes to cybersecurity, you can make a positive start by using several core strategies.
Let’s find out what they are.
Invest in Your Healthcare IT Systems
New technology seems to come out every year. Unfortunately, this can mean your current systems are out of date and more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. This could apply to both your hardware and your software.
While it can be expensive to replace and update your system, it can be worth the cost. For example, high-quality healthcare antivirus software can improve your cybersecurity defenses and represent excellent value for money.
This can help reassure your patients that their data is safe in your care.
Provide Healthcare Staff With Cybersecurity Training
If your employees aren’t aware of patient privacy requirements, they may commit a HIPAA violation. Poor data protection practices could also result in sensitive patient information falling into the wrong hands.
This could lead to a patient becoming distressed or their identity being stolen. By providing your staff with regular cybersecurity training, you can reinforce the importance of treating patient data with the utmost respect.
Hire Cybersecurity Professionals
You wouldn’t expect an IT support professional to tell you how to look after patients. It follows that you will need the help of IT experts when it comes to cybersecurity.
They will know about the latest cyber threats and be able to provide you with cost-effective solutions. Working with a Co-Managed IT service provider can be a smart move that helps you keep your cyber security measures current.
Review and Update Your Cybersecurity Measures
You can’t afford to let your healthcare IT plan gather dust. It’s crucial to review it regularly and make any necessary changes.
This could include providing staff training more often. Or, you may decide to use a cloud-based storage system. The key is to ensure you stay several steps ahead of cybercriminals.
You can then be satisfied that you are doing all you can to safeguard patient data.
Develop a Powerful Healthcare Cybersecurity Plan
It’s vital to pay close attention to healthcare cybersecurity issues and ensure you look after patient data. You may need to invest in new software and hardware, and training your employees is essential. It can also be helpful to work with cybersecurity experts and to keep your cybersecurity plan up to date at all times.
This can help protect your healthcare system from cyber hackers.
If you’ve found this healthcare cybersecurity post helpful, check out more of our informative blog articles.
